Jim Thorpe - Media Guide

2006  Charles Schwab Cup Championship.  2007  Charles Schwab Cup Championship. 

20-under 268 tied his own tournament scoring record and was his third overall victory at Sonoma, matching Tom Watson's three wins (2000, 2002, 2005). Win was also his 13th career title on the Champions Tour and extended his streak of years with at least one victory to eight consecutive seasons. Joined Jay Haas and Brad Bryant as players who successfully defended titles in 2007. The $442,000 paycheck was his largest as a professional and put him over the $1-million mark in season earnings for the eighth straight season...Almost did not make the field at Sonoma, having to hold off Tom Jenkins for the 30th spot on the 2007 earnings list the week prior at the AT&T Championship. Came into the season's final full-field event ahead of Jenkins on the money list and T38 at Oak Hills allowed him to end up $4,079 ahead of Jenkins after play ended in San Antonio...Has now finished among the top-30 money-winners in nine straight seasons...Started his year strong with a T2 at the season-opening MasterCard Championship at Hualalai in Hawaii. Second-round, 9-under 63 turned out to be his low round of the season...Was also in contention all three rounds at the AT&T Champions Classic in mid-March before eventually finishing T4...In early August, shared the first-round lead at the 3M Championship with Tom Jenkins after carding an 8-under 64. Was one-stroke off the pace after play Saturday before eventually finishing T5 in Minnesota, despite posting a 69 in the final round.

Michigan near Detroit. Fired four straight sub-par rounds but missed a 7-foot par putt on the 72nd hole, eventually costing him the opportunity for a playoff with Wadkins. It was his third runner-up finish in the event...Matched the 18-hole tournament record with a 9-under 63 in the final round of the Regions Charity Classic. Score set a Robert Trent Jones Trail at Ross Bridge course record, as well as establishing a record for the best final-round score in tournament history. 2005: Picked up two victories, making it the fifth time in the last six years he owns multiple wins in a season. First victory came in May when he claimed the FedEx Kinko's Classic in Austin. Birdied four of his last five holes at The Hills CC to break away from the pack and win by four strokes. Gave his entire $247,500 first-place check to his church, Crossings Community Church, in Lake Mary, FL. Was the only player in the field to post three consecutive rounds in the 60s at The Hills and topped the field in Greens in Regulation (44 of 54). Followed up win in Austin with a playoff victory over Morris Hatalsky in the Florida panhandle at the Blue Angels Classic, the third time in his Champions Tour career he's won back-to-back titles. Defeated Hatalsky with a birdie on the third extra playoff hole of a Monday finish at The Moors after the duo was deadlocked at 16-under on Sunday evening after 54 holes. Win near Pensacola was his 11th career Champions Tour title and 194 total was the lowest winning 54-hole score on the 2005 Champions Tour. Was T5 at the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach and teamed with Amit Odaiyar (from The First Tee of Greater Sacramento) to claim the pro-junior competition after a match of scorecards with the team of Lonnie Nielsen/Colby Smith. His birdie on the final hole broke the tie after each team had finished with a score of 19-under-par 197...Donated a portion of his winnings at the Constellation Energy Classic near Baltimore to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Montgomery County in Maryland. Finished second in Birdies to his good friend Dana Quigley (356), with 337. 2004: Finished among the top-10 money-winners for the fifth straight season and won multiple victories for the fourth time in six seasons. Got his year jump-started when he was a one-stroke victor over Fred Gibson at the Farmers Charity Classic, despite a double bogey on the final hole. Came from three strokes back in the final round, thanks to seven birdies in the first 14 holes on Sunday...Rallied from four strokes back to win his second straight Commerce Bank Long Island Classic title a month later. Joined Bruce Fleisher, Lee Trevino and George Archer on the list of players who have successfully defended titles on Long Island. Final-round 67 included three birdies on the front nine that allowed him to overtake 54-hole leader Jerry Pate. Avoided a playoff with a clutch par save from 19 feet on the last hole. 2003: Had perhaps his finest season in professional golf when he was among the top-three six times starting in mid-July. Appeared to be out of the Charles Schwab Cup competition through the first half of the season, but eventually finished second in the Schwab Cup race behind Tom Watson when he became the Champions Tour's hottest player after mid-August. Was voted the Champions Tour Player of the Month for both August and October. Also placed second behind Watson in the final money standings with a personal-best $1,830,306...In the winner's circle for the first time in 16 months when he slipped by Bob Gilder for a one-stroke victory at the Long Island Classic with a tournament-record score of 15-under 195. Tied a Champions Tour record in the second round when he shot a 10-under-par 60 on the Red Course at Eisenhower Park. Record-tying score gave him a two-stroke cushion entering Sunday's final round and 3-under-par 67 proved to be good enough for the win. Short birdie putts on 16 and 17 clinched title...Capped his year with a wire-to-wire victory at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, CA, a first in the season-ending event since Jim Colbert in 1995. His 20-under-par total over 72 holes at Sonoma GC, included playing the par 5s in 13-under, was the lowest 72-hole score in relation to par on the Champions Tour in 2003 and the lowest four-round total in event history. Was locked in a duel with Tom Watson down the stretch, but holed a 67-foot eagle putt from the fringe on the par-5 16th and then made a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to seal the win. 2002: Won the only major championship of his career at The Tradition. Bested John Jacobs on first hole of a playoff at Superstition Mountain. Made birdie on the 72nd hole of the event to forge the overtime session and then added another birdie on the first extra hole to claim the title. Victory in Arizona was the first of his TOUR career before September 1. Was voted as the circuit's Player of the Month for April. Nearly claimed a second major title, finishing one stroke shy of Stewart Ginn at the Ford Senior Players Championship in July despite shooting a 7-under 65 on Sunday. 2001: Posted back-to-back victories early in the fall. Won a playoff for the rain-shortened Kroger Senior Classic title. Made a dramatic eagle on the final hole of regulation at the Kroger event to set up a playoff with Tom Jenkins and then won with a birdie on the first extra hole. Hit 3-wood from 245 yards for a 1-foot tap-in eagle putt...Claimed the inaugural Allianz Championship the following week. Used seven birdies in an 11-hole stretch to win by two strokes at Glen Oaks...Also lost by a stroke to Tom Watson at the Senior PGA Championship. Missed an uphill 6-foot birdie putt to tie on Ridgewood CC's final hole. 2000: Claimed the first two victories of his Champions Tour career and yearly winnings of $1.6 million almost matched his entire earnings total in 25 years on the PGA TOUR...Claimed back-to-back victories in northern California at The Transamerica and the Gold Rush Classic. Win in the Napa Valley ended a victory drought of just over 14 years ('86 Seiko Tucson Match Play Championship). His 18-under-par 198 score at Silverado was three better than Bruce Fleisher and was a tournament record...Cruised to a two-stroke victory over Ed Dougherty at the Gold Rush Classic with a 21-under 195 total for 54 holes, a tournament record at the time, and the lowest 54-hole score on the Champions Tour that season. Second-round 62 at the Gold Rush event was a course record at Serrano. Victory near Sacramento allowed him to become the first player since Gibby Gilbert in 1992 to win consecutive starts with sub-200 scores...Recorded his second hole-in-one on the Champions Tour in the opening round of the Boone Valley Classic. 1999: Came closest to a victory at the Bell Atlantic Classic. Fired a final-round 65 on Sunday at Hartefeld National to come from four strokes off the pace and catch Tom Jenkins, but eventually lost to Jenkins on the first playoff hole...Made his first hole-in-one on the Champions Tour in the final round of the Royal Caribbean Classic. 1998: Earned full exemption for 1999 by finishing T6 at the National Qualifying Tournament at Grenelefe Golf and Tennis Resort. After carding rounds of 67-76-72, fired a 3-under-par 69 on the final day to secure his top-eight finish.

Bill, has been through the National Qualifying Tournament several times...Earned a football scholarship to Morgan State as a running back.